4 february 2002
new york
wef sustainability under fire
Friends of the Earth today described the
World Economic Forum’s Environmental
Sustainability Index – published today – as
grossly misleading. Yet even these crude
measures - which place the US 51st and the UK
98th - reveal how unsustainable the free
market policies promoted by the World
Economic Forum (WEF) are.
The report, which takes account of some of
the criticisms of last year’s report made by
environmental groups, still fails to address
fundamental flaws in the criteria used for
comparisons. It places Finland as world
leader, despite the fact that they continue
to log the last fragments of their old-growth
forests and run an unsustainable nuclear
power programme.
Friends of the Earth International (FOEI)
believes the WEF must address the basic
problems of unsustainable economic growth if
it is to seriously address environmental
sustainability.
Tony Juniper, speaking for FOEI, said:
“Even these crude measures show just how
unsustainable the current economic model is,
as shown by the UK’s and the US’s appalling
sustainability performance. So why is the WEF
putting so much effort into trying to export
this deeply unsustainable growth model to the
rest of the world? “
If the WEF really is ‘Committed to Improving
the State of the World’ – as it claims – it
should stop pushing for more corporate-led
globalisation, and start embracing the
measures needed to deliver sustainable
economies. They can start by supporting a
legally binding convention on corporate
accountability, giving priority to the needs
of people and the environment”.
Contact
:
Craig Bennett + 1 213 216 0565
Miriam Behrens + 41 79 216 0206
Tony Juniper + 44 77 128 43207
Notes:
1. The Environment Sustainability Index,
released by the WEF today (Monday February
4), is jointly published by the WEF’s Global
Leaders for Tomorrow Environment Task Force,
The Yale Center for Environmental Law and
Policy, and the Columbia University Center
for International Earth Science Information
Network (CIESN). The WEF annual meeting takes
place at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, from
Jan 31 – Feb 4
2. Friends of the Earth International will
be responding to this report at the World
Economic Forum.
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